Ukraine Parliament Elects New Prime Minister After Brawls

KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine's parliament Thursday approved Mykola Azarov, President Viktor Yanukovich's ally, as prime minister, after the ruling Party of the Regions and its allies mustered a solid majority despite raucous protests from the opposition.

Azarov, 64, who has served as prime minister since Yanukovich became president in February 2010, was voted in for a second term in office by 252 votes from the 450-seat chamber.

The vote on Azarov's nomination was an early test of the support that Yanukovich, who is expected to bid for a second term as president in 2015, commands in the new chamber.

But it culminated a day of rowdy scenes in parliament and protests from a re-invigorated opposition which spoke out against another term for Azarov. It says his government has reneged on promises to raise living standards.

Earlier, deputies wrestled with each other in a mass of bodies around the main rostrum as opposition parties tried physically to block a vote on the Regions' candidate for speaker.

The Regions' majority in support of Azarov was due in part — as with the vote in support of Volodymyr Rybak as speaker — to backing from the Regions' traditional communist allies.

Ukraine's parliament Thursday approved Mykola Azarov, President Viktor Yanukovich's ally, as prime minister, after the ruling Party of the Regions and its allies mustered a solid majority despite raucous protests from the opposition.